METHODISM 
REDISCOVERING ITSELF 




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Book , P 

Copyright}! 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



Methodism 
Rediscovering 
Itself 

ABRAM S. KAVANAGH 

Superintendent of The Methodist Episcopal Hospital, 
Brooklyn, N. Y. 

With an Introductory Note 
by 

BISHOP LUTHER B. WILSON 




THE METHODIST BOOK CONCERN 

NEW YORK CINCINNATI 



Copyright, 1914, by 
ABRAM S. KAVANAGH 



SEP I3i4 

©CI.A379652 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Introductory Note 5 

I. The Methodist Church and Other 
Churches In Action 9 

II. The Pastor and His Church In 

Action 57 

Appendix — Report of the Committee 
of Twenty-five Appointed by the 
New York Preachers' Meeting 81 



INTRODUCTORY NOTE 

At one of the sessions of the New 
York Preachers' Meeting held during 
the winter of 1913-14, the Rev. Dr. 
Kavanagh, superintendent of the 
Methodist Episcopal Hospital in 
Brooklyn, presented a paper in which 
were recited certain facts concerning 
our own and other churches in Greater 
New York. A profound impression 
was made upon those who were priv- 
ileged to hear the paper. Action was 
immediately taken looking to the coor- 
dination of all agencies for the advance 
of Methodist interests in this great 
metropolis. 

It is a great source of gratification to 
me that the results of Dr. Kavanagh's 
painstaking investigation are to be 
given permanent form, and I very 
heartily commend the present volume 

5 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

to the study of all who are interested 
in the progress of evangelical Chris- 
tianity in this city or elsewhere. For, 
while the thought of the writer has been 
concentrated chiefly upon problems as 
they are presented here, the principles 
involved and the conclusions reached 
must be regarded as having a very 
direct bearing upon the conditions 
which Methodism and other churches 
of the evangelical faith are facing else- 
where. 

I am prepared to believe that Meth- 
odists generally are not aware of what 
Methodism is really doing abroad or at 
home. This is no reflection upon the 
intelligence or loyalty of our constitu- 
ency. It arises largely from the fact 
that in many cases no individual or 
group of individuals really has knowl- 
edge of the manifold activities of our 
Church. 

The plan proposed by Dr. Kav- 
anagh for the coordination of our 

6 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

benevolent organizations must inevit- 
ably result in wider knowledge of our 
activities, and, as I believe, may be ex- 
pected quite reasonably to result in 
strengthening the financial support of 
these organizations. But, in my think- 
ing, even beyond any immediate finan- 
cial advantage to be hoped for is the 
strengthening among our members of 
mutual confidence, and the unifying of 
elements which only in this way can 
reach the maximum efficiency. There 
will be many occasions when consulta- 
tion with such a group of workers must 
be vitally significant, and the utterance 
of such a company on questions of 
evangelism or civic reform, or, indeed, 
upon any of those serious matters 
which are constantly claiming atten- 
tion, will command a hearing such as 
would be given to no individual what- 
ever his relation to the Church. 

Dr. Kavanagh seems to me to speak 
intelligently and forcefully, and the 

7 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

conviction forces itself upon me that 
his message should have very general 
and very thoughtful consideration. 

L. B. Wilson. 

New York. 



' THE METHODIST CHURCH 
AND OTHER CHURCHES 
IN ACTION 



9 



"The only way to judge of the true con- 
dition of the Christian Church is to bring 
it into immediate contact with the character 
of Jesus Christ." 

"What was the relation of Jesus Christ to 
the poor, the sick, and the unfortunate, and 
what proportion of his public ministry was 
given to what we would now call social serv- 
ice?" 

"Great multitudes were always following 
him, and his days and nights were spent in 
tireless ministries to their needs — to the heal- 
ing of the sick, to the feeding of the hungry, 
to the befriending of the friendless." 

"I do not wish to understate that part of 
our Lord's ministry in which he sought to 
bring men into conscious fellowship with God. 
But we do need to get into its proper per- 
spective before our minds this other phase of 
our Lord's ministry. And there can be no 
doubt that his relation to the poor and the 
friendless was the outstanding fact of that 
ministry." 

"The free churches made a terrible mis- 
take when they chose to confine themselves to 
what they were pleased to call spiritual inter- 
ests, and handed over love, as one of the 
temporalities, to the state and the outside 
charities ." — Washington Gladden, D.D 
From "The Century." 



I 



THE METHODIST CHURCH 
AND OTHER CHURCHES 
IN ACTION 

When Bishop Simpson sent Wil- 
liam Butler to India he charged him 
to "Lay broad and deep the foundation 
of Methodism" in that distant land. 
The fulfillment of this commission 
is a story of thrilling interest. The 
recent death of Mrs. Butler suggests 
that The Land of the Veda might 
very well be reread at this time, and 
after that, From Boston to Bareilly 
and Back, They are ancient history 
now, but no modern history can take 
their place. We find this great apostle, 
with the aid of his borrowed Presby- 
terian brother, preaching the gospel, 
opening educational institutions, and 

founding homes for the orphans of the 
11 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

Sepoy rebellion. Thus he was laying 
the foundations broad and deep. 

His successors in India and other 
mission fields have added to their work- 
ing outfit hospitals and dispensaries. 
Indeed, it has been said that the gospel 
is entering heathen lands at the point 
of the lancet. In fact, no mission to- 
day is properly equipped without hos- 
pital, physician, and nurse. 

This is true to the spirit of Wesley. 
He preached with marvelous power, 
but he also cared for the orphans, the 
poor, the aged, the sick, and gave him- 
self in unstinted toil for them. Thus 
he laid the foundations of Methodism, 
and became the best-beloved man in all 
England. There is no other way to 
build a great church in England, or 
India, or America, or anywhere else. 
The foundation must be broad and 
deep if the superstructure is to be noble 
and strong. 

But right here the student is com- 
12 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

pelled to acknowledge that for a hun- 
dred years or more organized Meth- 
odism drifted away from the practical 
Christianity of Wesley, We put tre- 
mendous emphasis — and none too 
much — upon the word "traveling." 
Our bishops were to travel throughout 
the connection. Our preachers were to 
travel, and, lest they should forget, we 
called them traveling preachers. 

The early Methodist preacher was 
expected to know his Bible, his Dis- 
cipline, his hymn book, a good horse, 
and where to get a good dinner. He 
must know how to travel. 

We had traveling preachers largely 
because we had a traveling people ; and 
traveling people and traveling preach- 
ers didn't stay "put" long enough to 
found an orphanage, or old people's 
home, or hospital. But in the course of 
time the hamlets became villages, and 
the villages towns, and the towns cities ; 
and the cities contain any number of 

13 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

foreign cities within their bounds; and 
the preacher that travels much now, 
except from house to house among his 
own people, is a failure. 

The traveling spirit, necessary as it 
was in the early days, postponed for 
Methodism the day of full-orbed Chris- 
tian service, in which other churches 
had made greater progress than we. 
But now we are beginning to join 
hands with men of every creed who are 
walking in the footsteps of Wesley, 
even as he walked in the footsteps of 
Christ in the work of caring for the 
poor, the sick, the feeble and forsaken. 
And thus in the twentieth century we 
shall lay the foundations for a greater 
Methodism. It will take decades to do 
this. My only fear is that our thirst 
for statistics, our obsession for eccle- 
siastical mathematics, the intemperate 
demand for immediate results will 
make the noblest achievements impos- 
sible. 

14 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

I question if there is any church that 
more fully appreciates this fact than 
the Protestant Episcopal, especially in 
our city life. She acts as if she had 
come into the life of the city to stay. 
She is not in a hurry ; she acts as if the 
future belonged to her. Now we find 
her building a great cathedral. She 
puts half a million into a chapel, and as 
much more into the choir, and then 
waits for another million, and then an- 
other; but steadily the great structure 
is erected, and long before it is finished 
it makes a profound impression upon 
the entire city. It was by the same 
methods that the Wesleyan Church 
strengthened itself in the world"s 
metropolis when it erected its Wes- 
leyan building by the side of West- 
minster Abbey and the Parliament 
buildings. 

But our Episcopal brethren have not 
confined their efforts to the erection of 
great cathedrals; they have set us a 

15 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

splendid example of devotion in deal- 
ing with the poorest. Down they come 
from Cathedral Heights into the 
haunts of sin, shame, sorrow, and sick- 
ness, to deal with the most sodden, for- 
saken, and abandoned. Four hospitals 
in Greater New York, two of them for 
children, besides three Old People's 
Homes, and a Home for Incurables — 
these indicate her good Samaritan 
spirit. In this way this Church demon- 
strates that she is a permanent occu- 
pant of the town. She is not worrying 
as to possible success or failure. She 
keeps on laying foundations which are 
deep and strong, whether it be among 
the rich on Cathedral Heights, or 
among the poor in the slums. She 
knows that the denomination that will 
exert the greatest influence in any city 
is the one that sends its roots down 
farthest into the needs of humanity, 
physical, mental, moral, social, and 
religious. She knows that men have 

16 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

holy aspirations, and the Church must 
meet them; are sick, and she must heal 
them; are poverty stricken, and she 
must help them; are overwhelmed with 
sorrow, and she must comfort them; 
and that the Church that does these 
things most successfully will be the 
Church of the people; whether it be 
Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Epis- 
copalian, Salvation Army, or Roman 
Catholic. 

Now let us look over into the ec- 
clesiastical preserves of another great 
Church and see what we can learn. As 
Protestants we are not always friendly 
to the Church of Rome. We know 
the mighty power of her remarkable 
organization, and we think we have 
reason to believe that it has not always 
been exerted in behalf of the things 
that work for our national welfare; and 
we are amazed at her opposition to our 
sincere efforts to reach and help those 
who have left her fold; yet we might 

17 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

well sit at her feet and take lessons in 
devotion and sacrifice. 

If one would contemplate quietness, 
strength, solidity, devotion, and astute 
leadership, it will pay him to study 
the history of the Society of Saint Vin- 
cent de Paul. It had its origin in much 
the same way, and for the same pur- 
pose, as Wesley's Holy Club. A com- 
pany of men, of whom Ozanam was 
chief, organized this Society. That 
they were devout men may be seen by 
such entries as this in the record of their 
meetings: " After all our exertions and 
sacrifices have we brought even one 
soul to Jesus Christ. In order that our 
apostolate should be blessed by God, 
one thing is necessary, works of charity ; 
'the blessing of the poor is the blessing 
of God/ " 

This organization was at once 
adopted by the Roman Church. In 
this she showed greater wisdom than 
the established Church of England 

18 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

which rejected Wesley and his Holy 
Club. Its special object is to visit 
prisons and hospitals, and to bring to 
their inmates and those in trouble the 
consolations of religion. It seeks to 
find employment for the unemployed, 
and to render financial aid whenever 
necessary. Under this organization a 
conference is instituted in every church, 
and these conferences all organized into 
city, State, and national councils. 

In preparing this paper I had before 
me the annual reports of two of the 
particular councils of this Society, and 
they are full of the most practical 
forms of philanthropy, such as: rents 
paid; clothing supplied for children; 
visitation and relief of poor families; 
visits to the poor, encouraging them to 
send their children to Catholic schools ; 
school books and clothing provided for 
poor children; continued interest in 
Saint Vincent's Home for boys ; repre- 
sentatives of the Society attending the 

19 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

State Conference of Charities and Cor- 
rection, to look after Catholic interests ; 
visitation of hospitals ; outings for poor 
children; investigation of cases before 
the courts; a probation officer main- 
tained at the children's court; fresh-air 
work, etc. The receipts for the year 
were $47,000; and one person gave fifty 
barrels of flour; and another fifty tons 
of coal, to be distributed among the 
poor. 

I do not suppose that this Society 
can reach with comfort or encourage- 
ment or advice every Catholic who 
needs it; or that it finds employment 
for every Catholic out of work, or food 
for all Catholics who are hungry, for 
multitudes of Catholics visit us in our 
homes and churches seeking relief ; but 
it is a wonderfully impressive thing to 
see a body of men organized as a reli- 
gious force, marching down the cen- 
tury, led by their pastors in the work 

of caring for men physically and so- 
20 



Methodism Rediscovering Itse£f 

cially, as well as religiously. What- 
ever we think of Catholicism, no matter 
how much we condemn some of her doc- 
trines, customs, and methods, she can 
give us all lessons in good works, "with- 
out which faith is dead." 

Thus the Roman Catholic Church 
and the Protestant Episcopal Church 
are sending their roots down into the 
needs of humanity, and are laying 
broad and deep their foundations in our 
civic and national life. 

From these churches we turn to our 
own again, and not without some de- 
gree of satisfaction, even though con- 
fronted by many disconcerting consid- 
erations. Doctrinally our foundations 
are strong. In many things there is as 
wide a liberty as Wesley expressed 
when he preached from the text, "If 
thy heart be as my heart, give me thy 
hand." As to the Fatherhood of God, 
the deity of Christ, eternal retribu- 
tion and blessedness, the necessity of 

21 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

repentance and pardon, Methodism 
gives np uncertain sound. Education- 
ally our foundations are strong, but as 
to philanthropic work — caring for or- 
phans, the aged, the sick, in a definitely 
organized fashion — we were slow in 
following the example of Wesley. 
Now, however, we are beginning to 
realize Wesley's complete program, 
and therefore the possibilities of the 
future must soon assume larger dimen- 
sions. 

Here and there we have Homes for 
young women employed in our great 
cities, where they can secure board at 
a minimum cost — just such Homes as 
General Booth on his recent visit to this 
country announced would be an im- 
portant feature of the Salvation Army 
work of the future. Methodism should 
not be second to the Salvation Army in 
such a Christlike service as this. Then, 
besides these, we have Homes for 

little children, where the motherless 

22 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

and fatherless can get a good start in 
life. But are we putting sufficient 
emphasis on this kind of work? Some- 
times our Methodist boys and girls are 
haled to court. They are not all bad, 
they are wayward. Many of them, like 
Topsy, were not born, they "growed." 
Perhaps we say, "That's not a good 
place for Methodist boys and girls." 
True, but they are there, and in the 
jails and penitentiaries also. Chaplain 
Bass, for years a member of Fleet 
Street Methodist Episcopal Church, 
Brooklyn, said he had met forty-five 
young men in the Kings County Peni- 
tentiary who were formerly boys in 
Fleet Street. The Roman Catholics 
have a representative in Court to care 
for their own. We have no one. Once 
in a while a pastor discovers that a boy 
is in trouble, and puts in an appear- 
ance, and the judge always receives 
him courteously ; but even if the pastor 
is there, can he suggest a place where 

23 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

the boy or girl can be sent where the 
influence will help, and not hinder, their 
reformation? 

The Catholics have institutions 
where such children can be sent. Meth- 
odists, either alone, or in cooperation 
with other Protestant bodies, should 
make similar provision. The Catholics 
will follow their lost boy, and if he is 
dying after a brawl or a fight, they will 
give him extreme unction to start him 
for heaven. Surely we should be no 
less diligent in trying to save our lost 
boys. We do not believe in their ex- 
treme unction, but we do believe in their 
determination to follow him down into 
death itself, with all that the Church 
can do for him. 

A most impressive gathering of the 
Society of Saint Vincent de Paul was 
held in New York a short time ago 
when the cardinal bishop made the 
principal address. He pleaded for the 
boys of the city, and especially for the 

24 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

day nurseries, and aroused great en- 
thusiasm among the auditors when he 
said, "If I have to sell my ring, my 
cross, and my chain, I will have these 
places established to protect those poor 
unfortunates." Is it possible to con- 
ceive of any work in which a bishop 
could render greater service than in es- 
pousing the cause of the boys and girls? 

Then we have our Deaconess Homes 
and our deaconesses who are perform- 
ing deeds of Christian love. They are 
supposed to be, and in many cases are, 
sisters of the poor and unfortunate. 
This should be their chief work, from 
which nothing should divert them. Of 
course they will aid the pastor in look- 
ing up strangers, and help him in many 
ways; but it is as visitors and helpers 
in the homes of sickness and sorrow 
that they will win their greatest suc- 
cess. 

Some time ago, when preaching for 
one of our Brooklyn pastors, I stated 

25 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

that if I should return to the pastorate 
again, I should seek a woman, whether 
deaconess, nurse, or whomsoever it 
might be, who could make a cup of 
tea or a bowl of soup ; who could sweep 
a room, and care for a baby, or bathe a 
fevered patient, and that woman would 
be my parish assistant. At the close 
of the service a trained nurse came for- 
ward and offered her services to the 
pastor. She was married, and had 
some time she could spare each day. 
A year later the pastor wrote me that 
this woman had made a profound im- 
pression for good in the community by 
her Christlike service. Every day she 
visited some one, and for six months 
had cared almost daily for a poor 
woman who was dying of cancer. That 
is the character of deaconess that will 
worthily represent the ministry of 
Christ among the poor and sick. She 
will not be above sweeping the floor, 
nor making the bed, nor washing the 

26 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

children, nor caring for the sick and 
dying. She will be a power for good in 
the church, and because of her, the 
Church will be a power for good in the 
community. 

Then we have our fresh-air work, 
bringing life and healing to mothers 
and children. Exceedingly practical is 
this. Here a little and there a little, we 
are doing something. Some agencies 
which do not call themselves Christian 
are doing more. Here is a wide field of 
possibilities, and necessities too. By 
forming a connection between our poor 
children in the tenements and the 
splendid farmhouses of our country 
districts, what an opportunity to influ- 
ence the little ones; and through them, 
the homes from which they come! 
Bright spots in our church life here in 
Greater New York are the enterprises 
at Long Branch, Bradley Beach, 
J amesport, Dobbs Ferry, and the Five 
Points. 

27 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

Then we have our Homes for the 
Aged, which constantly remind us of 
the fact that if we do not care for our 
own, we are worse than infidels. They 
are managed with great ability, and are 
a credit to the Church. Admittance to 
these Homes is usually limited by terri- 
torial restrictions and church member- 
ship, and in this manner a large number 
of our most worthy old people are 
deprived of these home privileges. 
Probably the different managing 
boards would consider it unwise for 
them to assume the greater responsi- 
bilities involved in the enlargement of 
their quarters and the increased ex- 
pense. But is it not possible to make 
the privileges and financial responsibil- 
ities of a Home coextensive with the 
Annual Conference in which it is lo- 
cated? 

Then we have in our great metro- 
politan district our Hospital, which to 
thousands every year is a fount of heal- 

28 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

ing. We do not ask an applicant if he 
resides in the city, or even the State; 
and while we have certain patronizing 
Conferences, we do not limit the work 
to them. Indeed, as this paper is being 
written, we have ministers or members 
of their families in the beds of the Hos- 
pital from the following Conferences: 
New York Conference, New York 
East, Northern New York, Central 
New York, Troy, Newark, and Erie; 
and many patients from all of these 
Conferences are constantly being sent 
to us by their pastors. It is our privi- 
lege to be the medical and surgical assis- 
tant of every pastor in his parish work. 
Hundreds of pastors know by per- 
sonal experience what it means to have 
the prompt assistance of the Hospital. 
The pastor is called to the home of pov- 
erty, sickness, disease, or distress. He 
knows what to do. He calls his own 
Hospital, and tells his story. If the 
case is a suitable one for a general hos- 

29 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

pital such as ours, the way is opened at 
once for the reception of the patient. 
If he is a faithful pastor, and resides in 
or near the city, he follows his patient 
to the Hospital. His presence there 
will do both the patient and the Hos- 
pital good; and that poor family will 
feel that his minister is a man of God, 
and the Hospital the house of God. 

Now, scores of ministers know the 
truth of what I am saying. But I have 
a larger vision. I should like to put an 
ambulance coach in the field, with a 
doctor and nurse as needed, to devote 
their whole time to cooperation with 
our pastors. To hold themselves in 
readiness to serve every pastor, so far 
as possible, in Greater New York; and 
to meet incoming trains when patients 
are being sent to us from the surround- 
ing country. Thus, every church and 
pastor in local Methodism, and hun- 
dreds of pastors in our patronizing 
Conferences, and the churches of other 

30 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

denominations, would feel the power 
and influence of our Hospital. All this 
service awaits the larger vision of the 
Church. 

Or consider our City Church Exten- 
sion Societies, found in increasing 
numbers in our cities, which receive all 
too little consideration at the hands of 
the Church; and concerning which I 
may speak here, for they are at once 
evangelistic forces and good Samar- 
itans carrying healing, helpfulness, and 
betterment into the homes of the poor 
and downtrodden. Indeed, they trans- 
form many homes, bringing comfort 
and refinement where there was once 
squalor and sin. They are dealing with 
problems that stagger statesmen. 
Many wise men are discussing the 
question whether the American re- 
public can stand the strain placed upon 
it by our American cities. Here come 
not only the best blood of all nations, 
but the worst; which often means both 

31 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 



physical and mental strength with eth- 
ical and religious degeneration. They 
have fled from the sword of justice or 
injustice. They sow seeds of discord 
and rebellion, and bring ruin if they 
can. Apparently, their mission in life 
is destruction. 

The different denominations are put- 
ting forth such efforts as they can to 
meet this problem, but with indifferent 
success. I have indicated how our 
Episcopal brethren are working from 
cathedral to slums. Our Jewish breth- 
ren are not idle, but their task is 
Herculean. Our Roman Catholic 
brethren are using the agencies of 
their churches to reach new arrivals 
whom they claim as their own. Our 
City Church Extension Societies are 
charged with this responsibility. Their 
work, of necessity, is commensurate with 
their funds, but their funds are only 
commensurate with the task of captur- 
ing a fortress of wooden guns, while 

32 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

their actual task is the Moro Castles 
of the world. Our city problem, as 
we see it in our largest cities, reminds 
me of the battle of Lone Tree Hill, 
where the Russians and Japanese 
fought for many days. Each fought 
desperately for this vantage point. 
The army occupying its summit could 
sweep the country for miles around 
with shot and shell. They reasoned 
that it was worth thousands of men, 
and so they fought with frantic des- 
peration. When will the Church learn 
that the city is our "Lone Tree 
Hill"? We often hear the glib state- 
ment that one dollar spent on foreign 
fields will accomplish more than one 
hundred dollars spent at home. The 
argument, of course, is, Send your 
money abroad. No, a juster conclu- 
sion is this : if the home field is so much 
more difficult, and if its capture is in- 
dispensable, then you must spend still 
more at home, for "Lone Tree Hill" 

33 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

must be taken no matter what the 
cost. 

A few weeks ago I had some pictures 
taken from the Barnier Solarium on 
the top of the Halls Administration 

Building at the Hospital. I was 
anxious to secure some of the most dis- 
tant points in the city, particularly the 
Woolworth, Municipal, and Metropol- 
itan buildings; and, if possible, the 
bridges that span the East River. 
Now, all of these interesting points are 
in the picture. Then, with the photog- 
rapher, I tried to locate our Brook- 
lyn churches; but all I could find was 
a portion of the roof of our Sixth 
Avenue Church; the top of the tower of 
Fleet Street Church; a fairly good 
view of Simpson Church, and the spire 
of Saint John's Church on Bedford 
Avenue. Everything at long range 
that I desired stood out splendidly, 
even an outline of the Cathedral of 
Saint John the Divine, on Cathedral 

34 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

Heights, Manhattan; and the Palisades 
beyond. But the Methodist churches 
round about the Hospital were literally 
"out of sight." I have looked at that 
picture a great many times since, and 
I have said to myself that it certainly 
has a meaning far more significant than 
I had expected. Is there not danger 
that as a Church we are becoming ex- 
pert as long range artists, while our 
nearer focus is badly deficient? 

It may be an unforgivable crime to 
make the following suggestion, but has 
not the time come when our great mis- 
sionary committees, foreign and home; 
our women's organizations, foreign and 
home, should make a study of condi- 
tions in our great cities, some of which 
are the greatest missionary fields in the 
world; and more adequately come to 
the aid of the men and women who are 
wrestling with these problems? In 
many sections of New York city the 
Church is on the retreat, and our prin- 

35 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

cipal concern seems to be how to retreat 
in good order; and in many cases we 
are retreating from peoples to whom 
we are sending missionaries in their 
home lands. What glory is there to the 
Church, or the kingdom of God, if, 
while succeeding in distant lands, we 
fail at home? Indeed, our failure at 
home will eventually mean our discredit 
and failure abroad. The thoughtful 
heathen will say, "Cast out first the 
beam out of thine own eye." 

We are familiar with cities three 
thousand miles away, but how many of 
us are familiar with that foreign city 
on the edge of which the East Side 
Parish is located? Here is a popula- 
tion of five hundred and fifty thousand, 
nearly ninety-eight per cent of which is 
foreign born, or born of foreign par- 
ents. A foreign city larger than Buf- 
falo, as large as Cleveland, almost as 
large as Pittsburgh, twice the size of 
Indianapolis, and five times the size of 

36 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

Albany, to which our Church is min- 
istering in the name of Christ and 
Methodism. The church accessions 
down there have been no more remark- 
able than in other parts of the city; and 
yet who will measure the success of 
the enterprise by church accessions? 
Rather think of this: an Italian night 
school with scores in attendance five 
nights in the week; a Russian night 
school with scores of men in attendance 
four nights in the week; a picture enter- 
tainment on Saturday evenings, with 
hundreds attracted from the streets; a 
fresh-air work with hundreds of moth- 
ers, babes, and working girls cared for 
at Long Branch; and besides all these 
the preaching of the gospel in German, 
Italian, Chinese, Russian, and English 
— literally, a Church of All Nations. 
This represents not the nomadic life 
of the old-time traveling preacher, but 
the steady, plodding, persistent work 

which the Church must take time 
37 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

enough to do, not expecting to sow in 
the morning and reap before evening. 
It means toil early and late, year in 
and year out, and possibly for many 
years before it can be said, "The fields 
are white already to harvest." 

It is easy to believe that God does act 
in a mysterious way when he takes 
away such a man as John S. Huyler 
just as he was planning to put hun- 
dreds of thousands of dollars into such 
a work as this. But perhaps the mys- 
tery is this, that God wants one hun- 
dred men, for the sake of the Church 
and their own sake, to take up and do 
what this one servant of the Most 
High intended to do alone. 

Or think of the tens of thousands of 
sailors landing on our shores every 
year. They are here a week or a month, 
and then gone. But before they go 
hundreds of them are stripped and 
robbed by the emissaries of brothels, 
gin mills, and gambling hells, who even 

38 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

go down the Bay to meet them before 
they land. No more important work 
has been undertaken in this city than 
that which our Brooklyn and Long 
Island Church Society is now doing to 
reach these men first on their arrival, 
and provide for them a decent lodging 
house. And is there any better way to 
do foreign missionary work? For the 
history of our missions shows that 
many of our best workers to-day in the 
foreign field were converted here, and 
returned home to tell the story of the 
cross. 

Now, these are some of the under- 
takings our Methodist Church has on 
hand right at our own doors, and every 
one of them a practical expression 
of the sympathy and compassion of 
Jesus: Homes for young women, or- 
phanages, deaconess work, fresh-air 
work, Homes for the aged, our hospitals 
for the sick, the evangelization of the 
city. If Jesus were here, would we not 

39 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

once again hear him say: "The Spirit 
of the Lord is upon me, because he 
hath anointed me to preach the gospel 
to the poor ; he hath sent me to heal the 
broken-hearted, to preach deliverance 
to the captives, and the recovering of 
sight to the blind, to set at liberty them 
that are bruised"? In this, His first 
message, the prologue to his ministry, 
he had upon his heart the poor, the 
broken-hearted, the captives, the blind, 
and the bruised. When we get these 
conditions upon our hearts as Jesus did, 
we will have the compassion he had; 
and we shall seek to do the works that 
he did. 

Just about this time I can hear some 
one say: "This program is very attrac- 
tive and compelling, but how are you 
going to finance it? Is there not 
danger that the Church may be over- 
taxed?" To be frank, I believe that 
some self-respecting men, in moderate 
circumstances, feel that they can hardly 

40 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

afford to belong to some of our 
churches. We are beckoning a wel- 
come with one hand and repelling with 
the other. If you doubt this, observe 
what happens in your church some Sun- 
day morning. In many churches the 
benediction is the signal for the workers 
to get busy before the congregation 
gets away. One worker wants a doll, 
or a cushion for the coming fair; an- 
other wants a turkey for the dinner; a 
little girl wants you to buy a ticket, and 
she cannot be denied, for she gets one 
free ticket for every five she sells. By 
that time a good sister wants you to 
join the Foreign Missionary Society — 
only two cents a week and a prayer. 
The Woman's Home Missionary So- 
ciety wants you to join — only two cents 
a week and another prayer. Surely, 
you can pay two cents or four cents a 
week — and the one prayer might cover 
both organizations. Then there is the 
Church Society Committee, and an Old 

41 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

People's Home Committee, and an Or- 
phanage Committee, ready to greet 
you, and the Boy Scouts need uniforms 
and guns. If by accident you escape 
to-day, the Boy Scouts, or the men 
scouts, or the women scouts will cer- 
tainly get you later on. Then, in addi- 
tion to all these, the great benevolences 
must not be forgotten. Has not our 
great statistician been around with his 
charts? Does he not clearly prove if 
you don't pull up the standing of your 
Conference, then you are pulling it 
down? Does he not more than suggest 
that these facts are in possession of the 
Central Office, where every man's 
record is known "whether it be good or 
bad"? 

Now, most of these interests are im- 
mensely important, but handling them 
as we do, under the pressure of the 
General Conference upon the bishop, 
and of the bishop upon the district 
superintendent, and of the district 

42 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

superintendent upon the pastors, and 
of the pastors upon the churches, to- 
gether with the not inconsiderable 
rounding up of able secretaries and 
statisticians, does it not occur to the 
thoughtful that here is possibly one 
important reason why multitudes do 
not attend church? The self-respect- 
ing man in moderate circumstances, I 
repeat, feels that he cannot afford to 
attend some of our churches. Is it pos- 
sible, then, to finance these great ob- 
jects which I have just reviewed and 
which lie at the very foundation of the 
temple which we are building, without 
overburdening and discouraging our 
churches, which are at the breaking 
point now? Yes, I believe this can be 
done, and the financial burden of the 
churches made lighter. 

If you would learn how to do this, 
having our local interests particularly 
in mind, study the methods employed 
by our Hebrew friends for the same 

43 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

purpose. Take the borough of Brook- 
lyn, the city of New York; there are 
many important Jewish institutions 
there: an Orphan Asylum; Hospital; 
Educational Society; a Young Men's 
Association; a Benevolent Society; a 
Woman's Relief Association, and many 
others. Formerly each of these societies 
had a board of managers which used 
to raise the funds necessary for the 
support of their own institutions, which 
means that a dozen or more sets of men 
and women were soliciting from the 
same individuals, and in the same 
temples and synagogues. They got up 
fairs and festivals, and solicited sup- 
plies and "ads" from the same mer- 
chants, and sold tickets to the same 
people. All this sounds very familiar 
— it is almost Christian. But these 
Jews had sense enough to create a bet- 
ter way of doing this business. Ac- 
cordingly, they created a central organ- 
ization, composed of representatives of 

44 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

all these Jewish institutions; and this 
central body conducts all financial cam- 
paigns. Thus the Jewish merchant is 
not now solicited by twelve different 
collectors, but by one only; and that 
one represents to that particular Jew 
all the enterprises. 

At first the hospital was afraid it 
would suffer under this arrangement. 
The orphan asylum was not wholly 
convinced that its interests were safe. 
Each society was timid as to the out- 
come ; but, as a matter of fact, the fed- 
eration was amazingly successful. The 
first year $90,000 was collected and 
divided; which was $8,000 more than 
under the old regime. The second 
year $100,000 was collected — an ad- 
vance of $18,000. The third year 
$135,000 was collected — an advance of 
$53,000; and now they are planning 
larger things. All over the country 
the Hebrews are beginning to handle 
their philanthropies in this way. 

45 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

This is practically what the Finance 
Commission is trying to do for the 
great connectional benevolences. In 
Cleveland an attempt has been made to 
federate local interests though the work 
has not advanced far enough to furnish 
reliable data. 

Now, then, what the Roman Cath- 
olics and Jews can do, we can do! In 
any city, especially any large city 
(or in a Conference, or district under 
some circumstances), a central organ- 
ization could be created, that would do 
for Methodism what this federation has 
done for the Jews. The gifts from the 
churches would be more, and not less, 
because of a businesslike solicitation 
and collection of contributions which 
should be made by the pastor in the 
church, and by the collectors outside 
the church, but never at the close of a 
church service. 

This central organization which 
should guide and control this work, 

46 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

should consist of the resident bishop, 
who should be its directing head; the 
district superintendent, or superinten- 
dents, of the immediate territory; the 
superintendent and two directors of 
each participating enterprise, and every 
man or woman paying at least ten dol- 
lars a year through the federation for 
the purpose of supporting the affiliated 
enterprises. 

It is barely possible that some one 
may misinterpret this paper and the 
position of its author, and remark: 
"My brother, 'put first things first.' 
What we need is the evangelistic spirit, 
and you have given it no place what- 
ever in this paper." The fact that we 
have not discussed evangelism does not 
mean that we are giving it a secondary 
place. It means that some things 
should be taken for granted here, and 
evangelism is one of them. Evangel- 
ism ought to be one of the axioms of 
Methodism, and certainly is with the 

47 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

speaker. We are simply reemphasizing 
the methods of the Master, "who went 
about doing good/' and did it so thor- 
oughly, and with so much compassion, 
that the high priest said: "Perceive ye 
how ye prevail nothing? behold, the 
world is gone after him." And no won- 
der, for wasn't blind Bartimasus in the 
procession, and Lazarus, and his sisters, 
and Jairus and his daughter, and the 
nobleman and his son, and the widow 
of Nain and her son, and the children 
whom Jesus took in his arms, and their 
mothers? O, yes, these and a thousand 
more were in the procession. No won- 
der the priests could prevail nothing. 
No wonder the people wanted to make 
him king! 

And that's the reason Wesley be- 
came the best-beloved man in all Eng- 
land. Like his Master, he went about 
doing good, and doing it in much the 
same way. When one tries to make an 
analysis of Wesley, and humanly 

48 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

speaking to account for his marvelous 
ministry, he will first think of him as 
a mighty preacher and evangelist. 
Next, he will give due consideration to 
his great catholicity, considering the 
age in which he lived, or any age. 
Next, he will discover that he was a 
man of the world, not a worldly man. 
The men and books of the world were 
his companions. There was no human 
interest that was foreign to him. But 
most important of all, he had a passion 
for humanity. He was no Absalom 
sitting in the gate, with a false interest 
in men, saying, "If I were king, I 
would do this or that." He had a genu- 
ine passion for humanity; and that 
passion burned and blazed to the end. 
On his memorable trip to Georgia he 
won the hatred of the officers by es- 
pousing the cause of the poor who were 
being deprived of a proper supply of 
water. Later he exposed the filth and 
degradation of the prisons in England, 

49 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

and wrought deliverance for poor 
debtors who often for a few shillings 
had been imprisoned. He ministered 
to the prisoners, and especially to those 
condemned to die, and that in no per- 
functory way, but as one who loved 
them. Even the French prisoners on 
the coast of England were the subjects 
of his care, as if they were his own 
countrymen. He begged money and 
provisions and clothes for them. As 
for the sick, he visited them, and opened 
dispensaries for them; and he even 
studied medicine, that he might care 
for them himself. We find him found- 
ing schools for ragged children, even 
housing those that had no homes. He 
had classes early in the morning and 
late in the evening for the ignorant 
miners who wanted to learn. In times 
of distress he opened a spinning and 
weaving plant for starving men and 
women in which they would receive the 
market price for their work until they 

50 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

found employment. Thus he antici- 
pated the modern bureau of charities. 
We find him establishing institutions 
to loan money to the poor, thus saving 
them from the sharks of his day — again 
anticipating a modern philanthropy. 
And, finally, in the very last year of 
his ministry, we find him tramping the 
streets of London, with the slush over 
his shoes, begging money for the 
poverty-stricken. But I must desist. 
This only suggests, but does not ex- 
haust, the inventory of his life. 

And all this you must take into ac- 
count when you read how the multi- 
tudes thronged him. He won them to 
himself and then to his divine Lord. 
True, they drove him out of his father's 
church. True also that before his work 
was done they welcomed him back 
again. In his old age they crowded 
the streets to see him pass. They ac- 
companied him in large numbers from 
one preaching place to another. How 

51 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

do you account for this? It is not 
enough to say, "He was a great 
preacher." Others were great preach- 
ers. Behold his catholicity! Others 
were as catholic as he. He was a man 
of books and men: so were others. The 
inventory is not complete until you see 
his passion for humanity. In these 
days we hear it said, "Back to Wes- 
ley!" With that sentiment I agree, but 
I say, "Back to the whole Wesley!" to 
Wesley among the poor, the sick, the 
ragamuffins, the aged, the helpless, the 
prisoners, as well as Wesley in the pul- 
pit and among his preachers. Back to 
Wesley with his passion for humanity! 
That's what I am pleading for to-day, 
the Wesleyanism of Wesley. 

Hear, then, the conclusion of the 
whole matter. An organization such 
as we propose would mean several 
things : 

First. The bringing together of the 
directors of different organizations 

52 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

would marvelously broaden their views, 
for each would become familiar with 
the work of the other. 

Second. The secretary in charge of 
this work would be in touch with Meth- 
odist and other philanthropic agencies 
in the area, and be familiar with their 
rules and regulations. His office would 
be a bureau of information, a sort of 
exchange or clearing house to meet the 
needs of our people. 

Third. It would place the resident 
bishop at the head of all local enter- 
prises. Not that he should be the execu- 
tive officer of the City Church Society, 
or of the Hospital, or of any other 
enterprise; but he should be in touch 
with all of them not in name only, but 
as a dominating influence. 

Fourth. It would surround the resi- 
dent bishop with a body of men and 
women ready to serve under his leader- 
ship in relief of the poor, the sick, and 
53 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

the unfortunate. Thus, as a true 
shepherd of the sheep, he would walk 
in the footsteps of the Great Shepherd, 
concerning whom Washington Glad- 
den said, "There was not a miserable 
creature in all Palestine who did not 
know that Jesus was his friend." 

Fifth. It would keep the entire work 
of the Church, not a part of it, before 
the Church. 

Sixth. It would make it impossible 
for some ill-advised enthusiast to 
launch some unnecessary enterprise, 
and then expect the Church to carry it. 

Seventh. It would make it possible 
for the bishop, as commander-in-chief, 
to throw the entire strength of local 
Methodism back of some important 
enterprise. 

Eighth. It would bring rich and 
poor churches together for a truly 
divine reciprocity, the one furnishing 
the means, and the other the needs, for 
large beneficence. 

54 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

The fact is, there is no end to the 
possibilities of an organization such as 
we propose. Organized and financed 
in this fashion, Methodism in any com- 
munity will send her roots down into 
the social, physical, and spiritual needs 
of humanity, laying broad and deep 
the foundations for the ages to come. 



THE PASTOR AND HIS 
CHURCH IN ACTION 



57 



"Methodism was meant to be an itinerant 
revival- — a moving Pentecost. Into its wheels 
was breathed the Master's word, 'Go !' It is 
not geared for standing still. Its equi- 
librium depends upon forward motion. It 
wabbles only when speed is slackened. It 
will topple over into the ecclesiastical scrap- 
pile if it stops. Therefore it must not stop." 

"The situation is, doubtless, aggravated 
by the experience of the churches, during the 
last decades of the previous century, with the 
irresponsible army of uncredentialed evangel- 
ists who followed in the wake of Mr. Moody's 
phenomenal career. . . . 

"That woe is past, but it left churches 
demoralized and pastoral leadership in true 
revival work at a fearful disadvantage. A 
score of successful evangelistic pastors could 
do much to restore to a great Conference 
the lost crown of itinerant ministry." 

"The pastor and Sunday school teacher in 
their personal contact with individual life 
hold in their keeping the future of the 
Church. One by one must souls be sought, 
and by faithful shepherding saved to the 
flock. It has been amply proved that spec- 
tacularly organized revivals do not enrich 
the spiritual life of the churches, even grant- 
ing that genuine revivals could be carried in 
stock and delivered by contract." — From The 
Episcopal Address, General Conference, 
191%. 



II 



THE PASTOR AND HIS 
CHURCH IN ACTION 

Ogdensbukg is a fine old town on 
the banks of the Saint Lawrence River, 
Its ample and substantial residences, 
its hospitals, public buildings, and 
churches, its well-kept avenues and 
streets, and its brilliantly lighted chief 
thoroughfare suggest the wealth, re- 
finement, and public-spiritedness of its 
citizens. 

It was Conference time, and the 
Methodist preachers of the Northern 
New York Conference had taken pos- 
session of the city. The air was charged 
with a frosty reminder that winter was 
receding with as little grace as possible. 
On every hand householders were busy 
removing the marks of winter from 
lawns, and shrubs, and walks. 

The superintendent of the Methodist 

59 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

Episcopal Hospital arrived on an early 
train, and proceeded at once to the seat 
of Conference. Before reaching the 
church, however, he was literally "held 
up" by a little boy back of a fence, in 
one of the best kept inclosures. His 
face was shining, and his eyes were 
bulging with delight over a discovery. 
He was as excited as Archimedes when 
he ran through the streets shouting, 
"Eureka! Eureka! I have found it! 
I have found it!" The discovery of 
the little Ogdensburger was so great 
that he could not keep it to himself. 
He had to give vent to his feelings, and 
hailed the first passer-by with a shout, 
"Say, mister, look at this!" I looked. 
At first I only saw a well-raked ground. 
Not a suggestion of frost, or snow, or 
grass was there. It was perfectly bare 
except for one little yellow flower which 
was blooming alone. It was this little 
flower that made the boy holler and 
jump for joy. 

60 



Methodism Rediscoveking Itself 

With the memory of not a few boyish 
tricks played at the expense of the more 
matured and dignified members of so- 
ciety, I at first concluded that the boy 
had just stuck the little flower in the 
ground in order to make a belated 
April fool of some visiting clergyman. 
So I said: ''That's very beautiful. Did 
you put it there?" But quick as a 
flash, and if possible, quicker, his eyes 
snapping all the while, and his words 
tripping over each other, he replied, 
"No, sir, my father did it." 

I passed on, but I carried with me 
the splendid boast of the little discov- 
erer — "my Father did it" — and I 
thought to myself how many difficult 
places would seem easier, how many 
rough places smoother, if we were only 
sure that "My Father did it." 

I sat in Conference that day and 
heard the district superintendents pre- 
sent their reports. I heard the name 
of each effective man called. I heard 

61 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

the superintendents plead for larger 
salaries for their men, and the plea was 
very timely, because the average salary 
was so small that it was inconceivable 
that any man would enter the ministry 
for the sake of "making a living." The 
energy and ability required for minis- 
terial success, if applied in other direc- 
tions, would be far more remunerative. 

As I looked over the Conference I 
thought what burdens most of these 
men were bearing, what sacrifices mak- 
ing, what misunderstandings correct- 
ing, what difficulties overcoming, what 
differences harmonizing, what troubled 
waters they were oiling down to a 
peaceful calm, and what sin, public and 
private, they were rebuking. I knew 
them to be heroes. They had the swing 
of heroes, and they left behind them in 
their parsonages as true heroines as the 
world ever saw. But I thought on. 
The destiny of these heroes and those 
heroines is in the hands of the presiding 

62 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

Bishop and his Cabinet. No safer 
human hands could be found. The 
bishop looked like a saint and he acted 
like a brother. The district superin- 
tendents were picked men — able, wise, 
and good. There was no doubt about 
that, and yet they were fallible men, 
and nobody knew it better than them- 
selves. 

The fact is, infallible men never 
reach the episcopacy in the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, or even become 
members of the Cabinet. Only one 
great Church boasts of infallibility, and 
she has so little of it that she concen- 
trates it all in one man — the Bishop of 
Rome ; and he has so little of it that he 
uses it only when he speaks ex cathedra. 
If he were to use it on all occasions, 
he would soon exhaust the supply. 

That morning I thought how much 
easier it would be to go to "Poor Pay 
Circuit," or "Grumbling Corners," or 
"Debt Doomed Cathedral" if one only 

63 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 



knew "My Father did it." Still if we 
are not always sure that "My Father 
did it," it might help us if we reflected 
that we are not always sure that he 
did not do it, and it might be well to 
remember that He who can make the 
wrath of man to praise him is also 
able to put the blunders of men into 
the "all things" that work together 
for good to them that love God. 

Soon the first day of Conference was 
over, my Hospital speech delivered, 
and I was on my way to Brooklyn. But 
I could not forget — nor did I try — that 
little yellow flower, and the proud lad's 
jubilant boast, "My father did it." 

That little incident gave emphasis to 
three or four facts that would revolu- 
tionize the Church in a decade if put 
into practice. That boy gloried in his 
father. His father was a great man. 
No such father could be found in all 
Ogdensburg — no, not in the entire Em- 
pire State. He was omnipotent, om- 

64 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

niscient, and a veritable Croesus, What 
a beautiful thing to have such un- 
bounded confidence in one's father! 
I wonder what the result would be 
if, during the next twelve months, 
every pastor had such faith in his 
heavenly Father as this. Faith, even 
as the mustard seed, will remove moun- 
tains, but faith like this boy's would 
create a spiritual and moral revolution. 

It was faith like this that made 
Caleb and Joshua bigger giants than 
the Amalekites; that made Luther feel 
that God was a bulwark never failing; 
that made Wesley say, "The world is 
my parish." Zion is not languishing 
where men of such faith are found. 
Church debts are paid, new churches 
erected, Sunday schools built up, young 
people claimed for Christ before it is 
necessary to reclaim them, and old 
saints comforted. No matter what the 
task that confronts such men it will be 
accomplished, for, like Napoleon's Old 

65 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

Guard, they will die but never sur- 
render. 

And then the boy gave full and un- 
reserved expression to his joy, and I 
thank him for that. There never was 
an age when we needed to sit at this 
boy's feet so much as to-day. We have 
become proper, very proper, exceed- 
ingly proper. We have lost the aban- 
don necessary to the greatest achieve- 
ments. We are not altogether to blame 
for this. Our forefathers in building 
seminaries and colleges; the State in 
building high schools and universities; 
the General Conference in creating 
Advocates, Reviews, and other litera- 
ture; our Bishops in founding Chau- 
tauquas and other similar enterprises 
are partly to blame. 

These achievements have tended to 
repress a healthy warmth, to make us 
more cautious and circumspect, more 
formal and proper. My proposition 
is not that we get back the old-time 

66 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

emotion by sacrificing the books and 
papers and magazines, but that we cul- 
tivate the emotional as we once needed 
to cultivate the intellectual. Let us get 
back to the boy. You can't imagine a 
boy always with a silk hat on, and a pair 
of gloves, and a starched shirt. No, if 
he is a genuine boy, you must think of 
him on the bleachers, or kicking a ball 
over the goal, or wrestling, or running, 
or in some way working off steam. 
What a wonderful thing it would be if 
pastors and officials could be as expres- 
sive, jubilant, and transparent as this 
boy! 

Reciprocity is in the air. Why not 
have more whole-souled reciprocity be- 
tween the pulpit and the pew? It 
shouldn't be considered an impropriety 
to tell a Sunday school superintendent 
or any worker young or old that he has 
done a fine piece of work. It should 
not be considered a crime to tell the 
preacher that he preached a good ser- 

67 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

mon. Back to the boy as fast as you 
can! Stop the passer-by, if you wish. 
Be extravagant. This recipe would 
transform many a preacher and many 
a church. 

Then, the little yellow flower was 
found in an unexpected place. Winter 
had scarcely gone, the spring wasn't 
quite sure of itself, but here was a hardy 
little flower which had endured the 
winter's frosts and snows, and was now 
the forerunner of all the glory that 
spring and summer would bring. If 
we look for them, such discoveries will 
be the rule and not the exception. The 
Cullinan diamond, weighing three 
thousand karats and valued at nine mil- 
lion dollars, was found in clay and sand 
and debris on the ledge of a rock. And 
was it not Confucius who gave us the 
Golden Rule in its negative form — 
"Do not unto others what you would 
not that they should do unto you"? 
This our Lord gave us in its positive 

68 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself t 

and finer form. Away back in the 
darkness of paganism Socrates said: 
"We ought not to retaliate or render 
evil for evil," which sounds much like 
Paul's richer expression, "Recompense 
to no man evil for evil." Lots of these 
little flowers are hid away in the hearts 
of men, and as we discover them we 
remember what is written: "There is a 
light which lighteth every man that 
cometh into the world." You may call 
it a light, or a diamond, or a little yel- 
low flower. It will often be found in 
an unexpected place. This is what the 
blind singer meant when she sang: 

"Down in the human heart, 
Crushed by the tempter, 
Feelings lie buried that grace can restore: 
Touched by a loving heart, 
Wakened by kindness, 
Chords that were broken will vibrate once 
more." 

What a wonderful year this would 
be if pastors would begin now to seek 

69 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

for hidden flowers! Suppose to-day 
you look for some broken heart and 
heal it; to-morrow for some little child 
and fasten it more surely in the King- 
dom; the next day for the husband of 
that faithful woman who has lived the 
Christian life alone in her home for a 
generation. Suppose the next day you 
call on that young man at the shop. He 
is just waiting for you. Don't talk 
"religion." Show him that you are in- 
terested in him. That's religion. He 
will soon be in the Kingdom with you. 
I am not guessing at this. I have tried 
it. Pastoral and evangelistic work, 
shop visits, and dining-room hospitality 
have brought many a man safely into 
the Kingdom. Follow this program, 
and every day seek to uncover some 
flower. Don't miss a day, and, sure as 
you live, you will turn the tide in your 
community, and victory, not defeat, 
will be written upon your banners. 
But there is one word more to be 

70 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

spoken. I must for a moment glorify 
that little hand-rake which cleared 
away the debris and brought that little 
flower into life and beauty. It wasn't 
a steam harrow. It was just a little 
hand-rake. I have great respect for 
the big harrow mellowing up the big 
field. There are times when it is in- 
dispensable. I have seen it move 
through communities stirring up the 
frozen, hardened soil, and making it 
possible to put in the seed which 
brought forth some thirty, some sixty, 
and some a hundred fold. 

But often this big rake is difficult to 
handle. It is expensive. It gets into 
trouble with snags and rocks, and often 
gets badly out of order, and sometimes 
does more harm than good. The radical 
failure of some great and expensive 
evangelistic campaigns is very gener- 
ally acknowledged. One of our most 
devoted bishops, who has given a great 
deal of time to evangelistic work, tells 

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Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

of the utter failure of the big revival 
rake in one of our great cities. 

In the borough of Brooklyn, New 
York city, a splendidly organized cam- 
paign was conducted a few years ago. 
The chief organizer was one of our 
best-known and most successful Meth- 
odist ministers, whose success as pastor 
in our own and other Conferences, east 
and west, was an ample guarantee of 
thoroughness at every point. The 
campaign closed. Some pronounced it 
a success. Many were not so sanguine. 
Others declared it a failure. Those 
most closely identified with the work 
very cautiously said that they did not 
seek numerical results; that the "deep- 
ening of the spiritual life" was the 
principal aim. Passing strange is this. 
Great choirs in preparation for weeks, 
organization developed to the highest 
perfection, machinery polished and 
oiled, considerable sums of money 
raised for expenses, and all of this to 

72 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

deepen the spiritual life ; and then with 
what unction we reminded the Lord — 
it was not by might nor power, but by 
his Spirit that the work was to be done. 
If the leaders in this movement thought 
that all this machinery was primarily 
to deepen the spiritual life of the mem- 
bers of the church, multitudes did not 
share this opinion with them. They 
thought it was a campaign to reach the 
unconverted. Not a few felt that if 
the spiritual life had really been deep- 
ened there would have been a corres- 
ponding ingathering of men and 
women. Occasionally there are large 
numbers brought into the Church with- 
out the deepening of the spiritual life. 
But we cannot imagine the spiritual 
life being deepened without correspond- 
ing results in the conversion of men. 
We cannot escape the conviction that a 
revival that does not bring men into 
the Church is a manufactured article. 
Whatever may be said of Billy Sunday 

73 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

and his methods — crude, extravagant, 
and often offensive — he gets results. 
Rumshops are closed, drunkards are 
converted, non-churchgoers are won by 
the thousands. I visited a town where 
he had conducted a great revival. The 
meetings had closed. Yet I saw a noon- 
day meeting in the Young Men's Chris- 
tian Association crowded to the doors 
with young converts, anxious to testify 
for Christ. Billy Sunday would con- 
sider his campaign a failure if he had 
to fall back on the well-worn declara- 
tion concerning the deepening of the 
spiritual life. 

Nevertheless, notwithstanding the 
triumphs of Billy Sunday and the oc- 
casional success of others, yet as a rule 
I believe that great campaigns are 
of doubtful utility. First: because it 
takes time to work them up, and while 
this is being done the pastors and 
workers of the cooperating churches 
are drawn away from their own legiti- 

74 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

mate field, and their own church loses 
ground. Second: because the pastors 
and people acquire the habit of running 
about from church to church, and when 
the meetings are over, the pastors stay 
home because they must, but the 
brethren who have been wandering 
around for weeks cannot give it up. 
The revival has made them church 
tramps. But the greatest evil is that 
they cause the individual minister to 
lose faith in himself. He is so used to 
going to the mass meeting or group 
meeting, so accustomed to uniting with 
somebody, that he has forgotten how 
to conduct evangelistic services him- 
self. He has solicited alms so long that 
he is a pauper so far as leadership is 
concerned. 

Now, this writer believes in great 
meetings, numerically considered, but 
emphatically believes in the Master's 
method of securing them. How did 
Jesus get the crowds? Why, he healed 

75 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

the paralytic; he raised Jairus' daugh- 
ter; he opened the eyes of the blind 
Bartimseus; he spent all night with 
Nicodemus; he dealt with one person 
at a time. That was his method. He 
apparently cared nothing for the crowd. 
Bishop McCabe used to say that the 
man who was skillful in raising money 
would get men into the Kingdom by 
the same methods. The Bishop was 
right. On Dedication Day how might- 
ily we appeal for money! But before 
Dedication Day how we buttonhole men 
in their homes, and in their offices, or 
on the street! Jesus Christ won the 
individual first, then the crowd. 

The prevailing method to-day is too 
often just the reverse. With many the 
plan is to get the crowd first, and then 
sort out the individuals. I am firmly 
convinced that this modern method, as a 
rule, is not to be compared with the 
Master's. Have you tried the Master's 
way recently? Suppose for one whole 

76 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

year every pastor should determine to 
get out his old hand-rake and use no 
other. I wouldn't be surprised if it 
were rusty, or broken, or if it couldn't 
be found. I should refuse religiously 
and emphatically to ask anyone but 
God to help me just for one year. I 
should try to rediscover myself, to win 
again the confidence I once had in my 
own ability under God to bring things 
to pass, for there was a time when we 
could bring things to pass. It was 
when we had the hot blood and aban- 
don of youth, which some lose at thirty, 
and some at forty, but which some never 
lose. But when it is lost our power is 
gone. Nothing but reckless daring is 
equal to great achievement in the pas- 
torate, and where practical will bring 
back the palmy days of the Church. 

For the present don't ask anyone to 
organize your work for you; do it your- 
self. Don't ask anyone to conduct your 
revival service for you; do it yourself. 

77 



Methodism Rediscoveking Itself 

Don't ask anyone to seek for your lost 
sheep, or lost coin, or lost boy; do it 
yourself, and you will soon rediscover 
yourself, and that will be one of the 
most important results of the revival. 
That was the method that made Dr. 
J. O. Peck. He would hunt from office 
to office, and from house to house, rak- 
ing away the debris and uncovering the 
flower of hope in the hearts of men. 
Then the people would crowd his church 
at the mass-meeting revival. 

Only those who knew him thought of 
Dr. A. S. Hunt, the preacher, scholar, 
teacher, and secretary of the American 
Bible Society, as an evangelist, but no 
man had greater success than he in win- 
ning a strong type of men to Jesus 
Christ. He always carried a hand-rake 
with him. He was constantly seeking 
out young men, and one by one winning 
them for Jesus Christ as he raked away 
their doubts and difficulties. 

No man ever carried to the White 

78 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

House or from it a keener sense of 
responsibility to God for the full per- 
formance of his duty than Benjamin 
Harrison. One of the most distin- 
guished Presbyterian pastors in the 
country is responsible for the following 
incident : Mr. Harrison was an elder in 
the Presbyterian Church. When he 
retired from the White House he re- 
turned to his home church and became 
active at once in its work. One night 
the pastor invited all who wished to 
unite with the church to meet him in 
the vestry at the close of the service. 
The invitation was accepted by some. 
A young man as he was leaving the 
church said to a friend, "I should like 
to have accepted that invitation, but 
there are many things involved in this 
step, which I cannot understand, and I 
must wait until I make further investi- 
gation." 

Mr. Harrison overheard this remark. 
He asked some one as to the identity 

79 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

of the young man. He secured his name 
and address and immediately followed 
him to his boarding house. The board- 
ing-house mistress was almost para- 
lyzed when she found the ex-President 
at her door. He inquired for the young 
fellow. He had just come in. He 
secured permission to visit him in his 
little room. He frankly told him that 
he had overheard the conversation and 
had come to help him. For an hour or 
two he met all the young man's ques- 
tions and before midnight had dispelled 
his doubts and led him to Christ and 
into the Church. 

Let us not be envious of the steam 
harrow. If others are using it with 
good results — which may be the case — 
rejoice with them, but stick to the hand- 
rake until from sheer necessity, impelled 
by enlarging opportunities, you lay 
it aside for the more powerful and con- 
spicuous harrow. 



80 



APPENDIX 



After hearing the paper on "Our 
Own and Other Churches in Action" 
the New York Preachers' Meeting 
appointed a committee of twenty-five 
ministers and laymen to consider the 
whole subject. The committee, after 
careful consideration, made the follow- 
ing report, and it was unanimously 
adopted as a basis for federated action: 



si 



THE PLAN PROPOSED 



I 

That the principle of Federation 
(without impairing the administrative 
independence of any unit) be approved 
for the Methodist Episcopal Charitable 
Institutions and City Church Exten- 
sion and Missionary Societies of the 
Metropolitan District. 

(The term "Metropolitan District" 
is understood as including the work of 
our Church in all languages in Greater 
New York and the Conferences repre- 
sented in it.) 

II 

That the objects of the Federation 
shall be: 

(1) The more adequate support 
and extension of the entire local benev- 
olent work of Methodism, through the 
increased information concerning their 

respective needs to be derived from the 
83 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

association and intercourse of represen- 
tatives of the several groups; and 

(2) The bringing together of the 
various elements of the several eccle- 
siastical divisions in a strong central 
body capable of being used under the 
leadership of the resident bishop in the 
promotion of all common Methodist 
interests. 

Ill 

(1) For financial purposes three 
divisions shall be recognized (Eastern, 
including Long Island; Central, in- 
cluding Manhattan, The Bronx and 
the region to the northward; and 
Western, including the region west of 
the North River). 1 

1 In the annual canvass for funds a distinctive 
pledge-card might be used in each division, showing 

(1) the objects belonging to its own division, and 

(2) those common to the entire Metropolitan District. 
This plan gives full opportunity for individual choice 
in the making of gifts. Nothing contained herein 
should debar organizations from seeking special funds 
for building, endowment, or similar purposes. 

84 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

(2) Contributions designated for in- 
stitutions such as Deaconess Homes, 
Homes for the Aged, etc., but not 
specifically directed to local institutions 
shall be expended in the division from 
which the contributions are received. 

(3) Undesignated contributions shall 
be administered as a general fund. 

(4) In all cases the intent of the 
donor, when known, shall determine in 
the administration of contributions. 

IV 

TKe Federation should consist of: 

(1) The resident bishop. 

(2) The district superintendents. 
(8) The Pastors. 

(4) Two delegates from each Fed- 
erated society, who with the resident 
bishop, the district superintendents, the 
other officers and seven members at 
large, nominated by the president, 
should compose the Executive Com- 
mittee. 

85 



Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

(5) Individuals contributing ten 
dollars or more annually to any or all 
of the federated institutions through 
the Federation. 

(6) Every cooperating church in 
the Metropolitan District. Each Quar- 
terly Conference should submit to the 
Federation, annually, a tabulated re- 
port of the charitable work of the local 
church, including the work of the stew- 
ards, all local church organizations, and 
the special benevolences of the mem- 
bers, so far as obtainable. 

(7) A delegate from any organiza- 
tion auxiliary to any of the Federated 
societies. 

V 

The officers of the Federation should 
be: 

President — The resident Bishop; 
Vice-Presidents— Representatives of 
the larger Federated societies; 
Secretary and treasurer; 

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Methodism Rediscovering Itself 

Corresponding secretary, who should 
familiarize himself with all the philan- 
thropic institutions of Metropolitan 
Methodism and the conditions of admis- 
sion to them. He should also become 
familiar with the charities of the district 
and be qualified to give advice con- 
cerning the same. 

Committee of Twenty-five. 
L. B. Wilson, Chairman. 

James R. Joy, Secretary. 



87 



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